Welcome to the Allen Zone: Total Focus

By LANCE FLEMING /Staff Writer

Randy Allen is forever jotting down X's and O's.

He's probably gone through a forest full of napkins and paper writing down plays or new formations, or some trick play.

The Cooper head football coach could be in a meeting, yet he's putting pen to paper, trying to come up with a new offensive set.

Or he could be in an interview and he's got a faraway look in his eye that seems to say that he's thinking of something far more important than the question he's being asked.

During the season, and especially during the day before a game, Allen becomes so focused on the task at hand that he appears to be thinking of nothing but the game ahead.

A couple of years ago in an interview, Allen described the feeling as "sort of being in a zone, I guess."

Well if that's the case, welcome to the "Allen Zone."

Allen recently introduced Dallas Morning-News reporter Dan Noxon to his zone after the Cougars beat Richardson Lake Highlands last week in the state semifinals. Noxon was interviewing Allen, and Allen was answering the questions when he suddenly stopped, looked at Noxon and asked, "Did I answer your question?"

Noxon simply said yes and moved on to the next question.

Allen describes being in the zone as being in a state of total focus.

"It's concentration, and it's trying to stay a play ahead and visualize what's going to happen on the field," Allen said. "It's trying to stay one step ahead of the opposing defensive coordinator. It's bracing myself for the emotional ups and downs of a game, so I don't show my emotions to the players. I think it's important for a head coach's demeanor to reflect that he's calm."

Allen't team has taken on his personality in that it's a calm, confident group that so far hasn't been rattled when bad things happen. Part of the reason the Cougars have been able to focus on each game is because of Allen's "24-hour rule" which basically means that players and coaches have 24 hours to enjoy a win, but then it's time to focus on the next opponent.

But while the players relax and enjoy the win, their head coach is still intense.

"Even hours after a game, I'm still locked in," he said. "I can't really remember games, plays in games, or even how games progressed. Even now I don't remember too much about our last five games."

Allen's focus on each game builds throughout the week until the night before the game when he begins to visualize the next day's contest.

"The game plan is assembled as you go throughout the week," he said. "I try to get four good scoring plays in that maybe the opposition hasn't seen. Of course, I'm famous for putting plays in the playbook and not using them.

"By Thursday you're honing it down to where it will be by game time," Allen said. "This week, I'll start memorizing the game plan and drawing up alignments Friday afternoon."

All the work that goes into putting together a game plan usually leaves Allen wound up fairly tight by game time. However, he said that he's not as tight right now going into the state title game as he usually is.

"And you can't be wound up," he said. "We've been relaxed all season. You can't sustain the type of intensity in the playoffs that goes into an Abilene High week, or a Midland Lee week, or a Permian week. You have to build toward that. When you see a team that has that same stress each week is when you see a good team get upset in the playoffs. You just can't maintain that high.

"The main thing is to be relaxed during the week," Allen said. "The thing about this team is that it's been pretty loose during the week, but on game day it knows how to get ready."

Cooper has been a loose club throughout the season, but especially in its current nine-game winning streak.

"That looseness is a result of confidence," Allen said. "Winning breeds confidence, and right now we have a confident group. When you get tied up in knots is when you're worried if you're going to win or not."

And so far, Allen and the Cougars have been so far in the "zone" that they haven't had to worry about that.